0p0 Chapter 158: Accomplices Appear
Chapter 158: Accomplices Appear
After Xu Feng brought the Jinyiwei into the palace, he immediately began to make careful arrangements.
He first came to the main gate of the palace - Xuanzhong Gate, which was the first line of defense of the palace. He arranged a team of Jinyiwei to set up sentry posts here to strictly check people entering and leaving to ensure that no suspicious people could sneak in.
Xu Feng then went to the Imperial Garden, a place frequented by the emperor and his concubines, where safety was paramount. He ordered another team of Jinyiwei to lurk in a hidden area of the garden, acting as a covert agent, ready to respond to any emergency.
Afterwards, Xu Feng walked north along the main road of the imperial palace and arrived in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was where the emperor handled state affairs and had an extremely high security level.
He personally selected several agile Jinyiwei and set up multiple observation points around the Hall of Supreme Harmony to ensure that the situation inside and outside the hall could be monitored in all directions.
After arranging these key locations, Xu Feng did not stop and continued to go deep into the heart of the palace. He came to Qilian Hall, which was one of the key points of his arrangement this time.
Behind the Qilian Hall was a quiet bamboo forest. Xu Feng walked into the forest and carefully observed each bamboo. Finally, he selected a thick and straight bamboo and cut it down with the sword he carried with him.
Back in the Qilian Hall, Xu Feng began to use his superb knife skills to carve the bamboo into long and thin bamboo sticks, each of which was engraved with a unique symbol.
After completing these, Xu Feng used his internal strength and waved the bamboo sticks lightly. They flew into the air one by one like bamboo dragonflies and floated to every corner of the palace according to the route he had planned in advance.
These bamboo sticks formed a formation in the air. They could not only transmit information, but also be used as hidden weapons at critical moments to deal a fatal blow to invaders.
Looking at the bamboo sticks falling steadily into the designated positions, Xu Feng smiled with satisfaction.
This formation originated from the strange thing he encountered at the foot of Jianfeng Mountain back then. It was when he was not well versed in martial arts and had only a vague understanding of formations.
After years of continuous research and practice, he has gained a deeper understanding of this formation and incorporated his own martial arts concepts and practical experience, so that the current formation not only retains the essence of the original, but also adds some unique charm and changes.
As his internal strength improved, Xu Feng became more cautious in using the Human Emperor Banner.
The Human Emperor Banner can absorb the souls of others and transform them into ghosts, then inherit all of their martial arts skills and memories.
But this also means that the user must bear the corresponding risks. After entering the Tongxuan realm, Xu Feng deeply realized that the quality of the energy absorbed by the Human Emperor Banner is far more important than the quantity.
Just like practicing martial arts, one should not be impatient for quick success and blindly pursue quick accomplishments, otherwise it will only create hidden dangers and affect the long-term path of practice.
Recalling the previous assassin from the Western Regions, if he had reached the Tongxuan realm, he might have directly used the Human Emperor Banner to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
But now, he has learned restraint and choice, and understands that every time he uses the Human Emperor Banner, it should be a precise improvement of his own strength, rather than a meaningless consumption.
Therefore, Xu Feng now reminds himself that in the path of cultivation, one should not rely too much on external forces.
A person’s greatest weapon is ultimately himself!
Don't let momentary greed or laziness cause irreparable regrets in your martial arts.
At the same time, deep in the dim Sanfangqiao Hutong, in a residential building near a quiet lake, the flickering candlelight illuminated three figures.
One of them was a dwarf, small in stature, with an alert face and a pair of cunning eyes, and he was speaking at the moment.
The other was a middle-aged man with a striking black band wrapped around his left arm, which seemed to conceal some story or pain. He was clearly surprised by the dwarf's words, and his brows were furrowed.
The third one was a young woman with rare long silver-white hair, which flickered faintly in the candlelight, highlighting her beautiful facial features and figure.
At this moment, she was listening attentively, with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
The dwarf lowered his voice, with a hint of pride in his tone: "News has come out from the Jinyiwei that Apu has been released."
The middle-aged man and the silver-haired woman were both shocked when they heard this, and blurted out almost at the same time: "How is it possible? The Jinyiwei has always been a place where people can only enter but not leave."
The dwarf chuckled and continued, "But this time is different. It is said that Apu has been returned to the Malkhanid delegation."
The two were stunned when they heard this. The middle-aged man was the first to react: "I understand. A Pu must have claimed that he was one of the Malkhan envoys, so the Jinyiwei didn't dare to kill him easily."
The silver-haired woman was still a little worried: "But it would be easy to be exposed like this. Doesn't the Malkhan envoy know who is in his group?"
The dwarf shook his head, his tone filled with disdain: "The nobles of the Malkhan Kingdom are so cruel. They don't care about their slaves at all! They don't even know if they're dead, let alone alive."
These words made the middle-aged man and the silver-haired woman nod in agreement.
Then, excitement appeared on the faces of the three people at the same time, which meant that they had someone sneaked into Malhan's delegation, which increased the chances of success for their plan.
The three of them were silent for a moment, as if digesting this series of surprises and opportunities.
The middle-aged man spoke first, his tone tinged with emotion. "It seems this was truly a blessing in disguise. If we had originally planned to send someone infiltrate the envoys on our own, you can imagine how difficult it would have been. But after all this trouble from the Jinyiwei, we accidentally sent someone in, and it's now difficult for Malkhan to refuse outright."
The silver-haired woman's eyes flashed with understanding when she heard this, and she said, "I understand. Even though Sam knew full well that the people sent here weren't real members of the diplomatic mission, he didn't dare to refuse them easily. Because they were 'sent' by the Imperial Guard, they would definitely think they were spies planted among them. If they weren't careful, it could cause even greater unrest."
The dwarf chuckled and continued, "That's right. If we kill Sam, not only will Dashun's plan to establish diplomatic relations with Maerhan fail, but we can also cleverly put the blame on the Jinyiwei. If the Dashun emperor gets enraged and takes his anger out on the Jinyiwei and punishes Xu Feng, then we'll have eliminated a major threat."
Hearing this, the excitement on the three people's faces became even stronger.
The middle-aged man made the final decision: "Alright! Then we will focus our next assassination attempt on Sam's head! We must make sure it hits the target with one strike."
The silver-haired woman and the dwarf nodded.
At this moment, a cooing sound suddenly came from outside the window.